Trump stumps in N.C. congressional redo election

Monday

Sep 9, 2019 at 8:29 PM

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- As election day arrived for an undecided 2018 congressional district, President Donald Trump came to Fayetteville to urge people to vote for the Republican.

The president had been scheduled to tour Hurricane Dorian damage on the North Carolina coast earlier in the day, but weather caused a change of plans. The White House announced Monday evening that Trump would instead receive a briefing from Gov. Roy Cooper on Air Force One.

“Tomorrow is your chance to send a clear message to the America-hating left,” Trump told about 5,500 cheering and chanting supporters at the Cumberland County Crown Expo Center. He urged voters to support Dan Bishop to protect their families, to defeat open borders, to end “sanctuary cities” for immigrants illegally present in the country, and to protect the Second Amendment.

The special election for North Carolina's District 9 comes after ballot fraud was discovered. Bishop is running against Dan McCready, who lost in the closely watched 2018 race by a slim margin.

The N.C. State Board of Elections ordered the new election after it found evidence of absentee ballot tampering by a Republican campaign operative.

The 9th District runs from Charlotte to Fayetteville. Political observers have said the outcome of the race on Tuesday could provide clues as to how Trump will perform in his run for reelection next year. It’s not a useful comparison, Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh told The Fayetteville Observe , to use a single congressional election in North Carolina to gauge a presidential election 14 months from now.

Vice President Mike Pence, who this summer held a fundraiser for Bishop in Fayetteville, appeared in Charlotte on Monday and at the rally in Fayetteville on Monday night.